Hall of Fame

Kristen Burkhart helps her grandmother Betsy Small, 94, of Forest Lake, collect certificates from elected officials honoring her induction into the Pennsylvania Voter Hall of Fame, Dec. 3 in a ceremony held in the Susquehanna County Courthouse. Small recalls missing only two elections in the past 73 years that she has been eligible to vote.

BY STACI WILSON

On the first Tuesday of November for at least the past 50 years 83 Susquehanna County residents have turned out to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

That dedication was recognized Friday as those voters were inducted into Pennsylvania’s Voters’ Hall of Fame in ceremony held in the Susquehanna County Courthouse.

For some of the honorees, 50 years is a small drop in a bucket compared with their actual voting record.

Betsy Small, 94, of Forest Lake, became eligible to vote in 1937 at the age of 21.

In the past 73 years, Small says she has missed only two elections – and thinks those may have been primaries.

She was born in Forest Lake, the eldest of seven children and left school early to seek work.

After working in households in the southern tier of New York and in Little Meadows, Small found work back in Forest Lake in the home of Selden Birchard.

Small said Birchard was involved in the Twp.’s politics and he prompted her to register to vote when she came of age.

Small said, “We voted down in the farm house. That’s where we voted (in Forest Lake) for a long time.”

Not only did Small turn out to vote each November. She also served as a poll worker for years in the Twp..

But she was not alone in her political work, Small’s husband, whom she met while the two of them were working for the Birchard’s, became a committee man in the Twp..

Loren said his parents taught him the importance of voting. “When we were eligible to vote, we registered and voted,” he said – with the exception of a couple of glitches in years when he had moved, Loren thinks he, too, has amassed a regular voting record in the county.

During the ceremony, Pennsylvania Dept. of State Executive Deputy Secretary Thomas Weaver said, “Whether you defend the country; raise a family; or simply go to work every day – you all took time to go out to vote every year.”

Weaver said the honorees had earned a unique place in Pennsylvania history. The names of all who were recognized will be part of a plaque hung on permanent display in the Voters’ Hall of Fame in Harrisburg.

“Our way of life is strongly rooted in exercising our right to vote,” Weaver said.

On behalf of Governor Ed Rendell and Governor-elect Tom Corbett, Weaver said, “I’m calling on you to share your stories and reach out to younger generations of voters.

He told the Hall of Famers they were the “ambassadors of democracy.”

Weaver said, “Encourage younger voters to register to vote and remind them why it is important.”

“The way to be heard in our democracy and to preserve the health and future of our great nation is to vote,” Weaver said.

In addition to Weaver, Rep. Tina Pickett, along with representatives from Sen. Lisa Baker, Rep. Sandra Major and County Commissioners Michael Giangrieco, Leon Allen and MaryAnn Warren were on hand for the ceremony and the presentation of the certificates.